Friday, November 25, 2011

Red chili paste is widely used in Thai food such as red curry soup, fish cake, or for quick stir-fry. The ingredients of basic red chili paste include red chilies, garlic, shallots, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, and a pinch of sea salt. I remember helping my dad pounding chili paste with a granite mortar and pestle that was so heavy for a 9 years old girl while he was preparing meat and telling me all the techniques I should know about cooking with chili paste, or sometimes just stories of what was happening at his sugarcane plantation. And I'm not joking, he cooked with chili paste a lot! I guessed he liked spicy food and that how I get that from. I love spicy food, too. But since I moved to the U.S,, I found myself a little difficult to find all the ingredients I need to make chili paste especially kaffir lime leaf and fresh galangal. It takes me for a while to find out where I can find what I need. Therefore, I don't have a heavy mortar and pestle with me so I use a food processor to make chili paste...huh..easy does it!

This quick and easy dish can be served as a one dish fast food for both at lunch time and dinner. If you have all the ingredient ready, it only takes about 10 minute to make.

How to:
- Add about 3 tbsp canola oil into a wok in medium to high heat. when the oil is getting hot, add chili paste and stir it all around quickly.
- Add shrimps and onion stir for about 5-7 minutes and then add asparagus and red bell pepper, stir.
- Add sugar and fish sauce and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes or until the asparagus is cooked through. If the wok gets too dry, add a little bit of water, a few tablespoon at a time.
- Turn off the heat and add kaffir lime leaf or chopped basil leaves at the end
- Serve immediately over cooked jasmine rice.

Friday, November 18, 2011

I came home from work one day, late and hungry! So, I went straight to the fridge to check out for something I could make. I saw a package of ground chicken! Hmmmm....what sounds good? And here I go, let's make stir fry chicken over jasmine rice. It's a one dish dinner (or sometimes for lunch) that quick and easy yet so simple to make.

Chopping and cooking time is just about 20 minutes, yep! That's it!

What you need for 2-3 servings:

1 lb/package ground chicken

1 medium yellow bell pepper-sliced

2 medium jalapenos-sliced

1 small onion-sliced

2 cloves of garlic-minced

1 cup chopped mushrooms - I used Shimeji mushrooms

3 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp canola oil

chopped green onion or scallion and thin sliced ginger

with a pan over medium-high heat, add oil, garlic, chopped onion and stir a bit until fragrant. Add ground chicken and stir. Add﻿ sliced bell pepper, jalapenos, mushroom, ginger and oyster sauce, sugar and stir all the ingredients together to cook through. Turn off the heat and add chopped scallion and you are done!

served over Jasmine rice or brown rice and add some green like blanched broccoli if you like.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

One of my colleagues at work brought a small Winter Melon to show me and was saying that his (Asian) neighbor gave him but he didn’t know what it was. I told him of how he can cook with Winter Melon – It can be stir-fry or make soup. But seems like he wasn’t sure or he’s just simply not convinced about what I’ve told him! So, he gave it to me, and of course, I am pretty much familiar to Winter Melon and know exactly what to do with it. And here is the result. Quick and easy – nothing is complicated.

Winter Melon with Salmon Curry

Ingredients:

Winter melon cut in chunk

Salmon cut in pieces

2 tbsp Red Curry paste

1 8oz can coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 medium jalapeno chili sliced and Thai Basil

1. Pour half a can of coconut milk into the wok or pot or pan – or whatever you have – on the medium heat.

2. When coconut milk start the bubbles, add red curry paste, stir and mix well together

3. Add the rest of coconut milk and the rest of the ingredients, except Thai basil

4. Cover the wok or pot or pan but stir occasionally to prevent the bottom getting burn.

It will take about 5-7 minutes until everything is cooked well. Turn off the heat and add Thai basil. Serve on top of white or brown rice or noodles as your desire.

Friday, November 11, 2011

It's 11.11.11 and it's supposed to be a lucky date, day, and year - whatever it is, I just go with the flow! So, I woke up with the feeling lucky(yeah right!) and this rice soup is the result. Here is the simple recipe that you too and make it easily, Nothing is complicated!

For 3-4 serving-depends on how hungre you are

1 1/2 cups leftover cooked Jasmine rice

1 cup ground turkey or Jimmy Dean's sausage

3 cans chicken stock

1 cup cabbage slice

1 cup carrots chopped

1/2 cup celery chopped

1 cup mushroom chopped

3 tablespoons thinly slice fresh ginger

1/4 cup light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

*white pepper powder

*chopped cilantro or green onion, eggs(optional)

*toasted garlic(optional)

1. Put chicken stock, chopped carrots, chopped celery into the pot on the medium-high heat. When it's boiling, add the ground turkey by making it a little bite size. Then add soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. However, if you used the Jimmy Dean sausage, be careful about the saltiness before adding soy sauce and salt because Jimmy Dean sausage has already been seasoning.
2. Add cooked rice, ginger, and mushroom and let it continues to cook for about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add chopped cilantro or green onion and turn off the heat - and you done!
Serve with toasted garlic on top! add poached egg if you like.